Mayor László Pap welcomed revelers in front of the Great Reformed Church in Debrecen. As he put it: In the twenty-first century, in the year 2024, can the Church’s feasts have such vocational power, in such a communal form. On the morning of Palm Sunday, everyone experiences the joy of Palm Sunday in their own church, within the walls of the church, according to their faith and religion – and in the afternoon, in a completely unique way, and in a special way, here together, together – regardless of religion, faith or denomination – we can Experience the beauty of Palm Sunday. In this respect, Debrecen is a very special place, a very special city. This is well illustrated by the preparation for Advent and is also evident through the city's Way of the Cross on Palm Sunday, the opening of Holy Week, and the final preparation for Easter. The city mayor expressed his happiness that so many people gathered today and feel the importance of walking through these six stations together. Debrecen is really special in this regard as well. Laszlo Papp is convinced that our faith and religious communities, which represent the past and the present at the same time and lead us into the future, play a very important role in the life of the city. They are the guardians and bearers of the traditions that make us love Debrecen as it is. Whatever changes are happening around us, Debrecen is one of the great centers of Hungarian Christianity and has strong religious communities. This is the guarantee, this is the guarantee that Debrecen will definitely not change in this regard.
After the prayer of Volop Kocsis, Archbishop of the Diocese of Haidodorog, Karoly Fekete, Bishop of the Reformed Church District of Tizantoli, based his thoughts on a quote from the Bible, in which he said, among other things: “The great meeting point between God and man is the Cross of Christ. Therefore the Cross For us it is not an ornament, not an ornament, but a gospel message, a sign of God's revelation, worship, waiting and openness. A wonderful coordinate system showing the width, length, depth and height of God's love. What people considered bad, God turned into good on the cross. The power of God on the cross was awakened life.”
In the words of Ferenc Palanki, Bishop of the Diocese of Debrecen-Nyiregyhazi: “Since the beginning of Lent, we have already prepared our hearts with repentance and good works. Today we have gathered to experience the mystery of our Lord’s Pascha, that is, His Passion and Resurrection, with the whole Church. He wanted this mystery to be fulfilled when He ascended To his city, Jerusalem. With living faith and the consecration of our hearts, we remember this saving entry. Let us follow in the footsteps of the Lord, so that we, his companions in bearing the cross by His grace, can also be part of his resurrection and eternal life. The Bishop called on those present to pray for peace.
After all this, the heads of the three historic churches jointly blessed the blessings, and then the folk dancers distributed them to those present.
The Way of the Cross departs from the Great Church to the following stops: Kossuth Square – Saint Stephen Statue – Old Town Hall – Reformed Chapel – Csokonay Theater – Saint Anne's Cathedral. At individual stations, petitions were heard in English, Arabic, Ukrainian, French, German and Italian, and representatives of the Baptist, Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches expressed their thoughts regarding Bible quotations.
In the program at the crossroads, members of the Koko Arts Academy, St. Laszlo High School and Greek Catholic Technical College, Svetets Catholic High School and College, students of Adi Endre High School in Debrecen, Debrecen Garrison Band, Főnix Children and Youth Folk Dance Band, and Hortobágy Band participated. For folk dance, and Debrecen Népi. Members of the Forgórózsa Dance Ensemble, the Martin Brass Brass Ensemble, and artists of the Csokonai National Theater of Debrecen and the Budapest Operetta Theater participated.
In the spirit of Eid, two concerts awaited participants during the evening. The Lyra Orchestra performed a concert entitled “Easter Harmonies” in the small church, and the audience enjoyed a musical service entitled “Dominica Palmarum” in the large church with the participation of the Debrecen Heliursig Band.
Photo: Debrecen Municipality
